The on-again, off-again relationship between Jack Morris and his hometown Twins is off. Again.

Morris, who as a player took advantage of an out clause in his contract after pitching one season (1991) with the Twins, had been working part time as a Twins radio broadcaster through the 2011 season. When the club restructured its broadcast crew with the hiring of Cory Provus after the retirement of John Gordon, Morris found himself out of a job in 2012.

Asked if he felt estranged from the Twins, Morris said: "I never got a goodbye. Never, 'Jack, we're going in a different direction.' Never told me I was fired. If that's estranged, then maybe it is."

Twins President Dave St. Peter said there were numerous discussions with Morris about potential roles after the 2011 season. The crux of the problem, St. Peter said, was that Gordon worked a reduced schedule in 2010 and 2011, opening up many broadcasts for Morris. Provus, however, signed on for 162 games.

"Certainly, Jack was never fired," St. Peter said. "From the Twins' perspective, we made a strong attempt to find a role for Jack, some things in broadcasting, some things not. We had a lot of discussions about a lot of different roles."

Although Morris is no longer part of the broadcasting team, St. Peter pointed out that Morris is frequently at Target Field. The team president said he does not rule out the possibility that he could return to the Twins' broadcasting booth in the future.

"We have nothing but the greatest respect for Jack," St. Peter said. "I can tell you there's not a group of people pulling harder for Jack to be elected to the Hall of Fame than the Twins."

Morris said he has gotten over what hard feelings he initially had, adding, however, that "I do think I deserved a little bit better departure."